I think we should collectively focus on priorities.
Replacing flights below a thousand kms with trains and limit road transport to a bare minimum and switch what's left to EVs (or hybrids) would have a big impact already, while also being economically sustainable.
After all companies in the GDO are among the largest and most profitable in the World.
Most cabs are already hybrid even here in Italy that historically resist to changes. The TCO is already lower than ICEs.
An immediate ban on ICE vehicles would only affect the pockets of the low income segment of the population.
The big chunk of pollution comes from vehicles running continuously, commuters use their cars to go to work and go back home.
> I think we should collectively focus on priorities.
Nobody operates that way though. Too much discussion of public policy seems to be oriented around "if only 'we' could just..." rather than "How can policy align selfish motivations with positive outcomes?"
Example: despite the rhetoric you'll find on Twitter, practically everyone who got the COVID vaccine did so because they didn't want to get seriously ill from COVID themselves, not because they really care that much about people they don't know.
Similarly, "we" will not be adopting more train travel any time soon unless there's a very compelling reason for individuals to do so. Train travel in North America mostly sucks.
> despite the rhetoric you'll find on Twitter, practically everyone who got the COVID vaccine did so because they didn't want to get seriously ill from COVID
slightly off topic, but I'll tell you that my main drive to get a vaccine was because if I got covid it would mean be stuck home in quarantine and avoid contacts.
Of course I would have done it anyways because I believe in vaccines and all that, but incentives are an angle that should be explored by rule makers.
GDO is a big polluter, let's tackle that issue before flooding the city centers with electric scooters that solve nothing and will be abandoned when they are not a novelty anymore and the cold season will knock on the door.
p.s. I live in Europe, Italy, and trains are quite good for long distances, unless you live south of Naples, and I've stopped flying from Rone to Milan 10 years ago.
Unfortunately high speed trains are not exactly cheap, but not more expensive than flying.
> practically everyone who got the COVID vaccine did so because they didn't want to get seriously ill from COVID themselves, not because they really care that much about people they don't know. > nobody
Are you just sharing your opinion? What country?
I know that in New Zealand plenty of people are getting the vaccine because they care about their parents or grandparents. Or they care about others, such as children under 12 that can’t get vaccinated. I also care about my 40 year old friend with diabetes. I care about my friend with a baby that needed hospitalisation for RSV, which teaches the right fear to us all. Anyone in their social circle that doesn’t get vaccinated is a loaded gun. Anecdote: one friend who I expected to be deeply anti-vax due to reading mostly US sourced crap, is getting the vaccine to protect her step-mum: in a more antivax social environment I might expect her to have said no.
We don’t have as much fear-mongering in NZ, and there are fewer people acting selfishly from what I can tell. Ones risk of catching COVID in NZ is extremely low at present, so selfishly one could decline vaccination without much difference to ones risk.
Currently we have 66% of eligible population vaccinated, and the rate of vaccination doesn’t seem to be slowing down yet due to hesitancy. The limitation on vaccinations in NZ here is getting access to doses, which is clear from the graph here: https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/...
“For example, one study using data collected between June-July 2020 found that the most common reasons New Zealanders would be vaccinated were to protect themselves (62%) and their family (62%), to avoid getting seriously ill (52%), and to feel safe around other people (51%). People were less likely to report they would get the vaccine because their doctor recommended it (23%).”
Replacing flights below a thousand kms with trains and limit road transport to a bare minimum and switch what's left to EVs (or hybrids) would have a big impact already, while also being economically sustainable.
After all companies in the GDO are among the largest and most profitable in the World.
Most cabs are already hybrid even here in Italy that historically resist to changes. The TCO is already lower than ICEs.
An immediate ban on ICE vehicles would only affect the pockets of the low income segment of the population.
The big chunk of pollution comes from vehicles running continuously, commuters use their cars to go to work and go back home.